Article Contributed by
Rotary Club of Jamestown
John Healy, President of the Rotary Club of Jamestown, inducted John Felton, CEO of the Southern Chautauqua Federal Credit Union (SCFCU), into membership at a recent meeting. Rotary International is the largest service organization in the world with more than 1.4 million members in nearly 33, 000 clubs. Rotary fosters the ideals of Service Above Self.
Felton was born in Jamestown and attended Jamestown Public Schools. He attended and graduated from the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park, NY in 1982. Because of family tragedy, he was hired at the credit union by his mother, who then proceeded to mentor him in learning the business. The business was founded on the ideals of good relationships, doing what is best for the member, meaning it is fair to all interested, building a better relationship with those members, and increasing the member’s standard of living.
Felton soon learned that members that needed the credit union the most were members of modest means, who perhaps didn’t qualify for credit cards or feel comfortable in traditional banks. Members needed a trusted resource. That philosophy of business relationships continues today as Southern Chautauqua Federal Credit Union approaches $150,000,000 million in assets, have over 17,000 members and almost 75 staff members that operate five full-service branches and three high school, student-staffed branches.
John has been instrumental in establishing the SCFCU as the only Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Credit Union in Chautauqua County, which is one of the poorest counties in New York State. Under his leadership, the Credit Union received the following awards:
- Juntos Avanzamos designation from Inclusiv recognizing their Hispanic outreach efforts.
- The Desjardins Financial Education Award from the New York Credit Union Association
- The Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Community Service Award from the New York Credit Union Association SCFCU was recognized by the National Youth Involvement
- Board for their Kids’ Credit Union Program
Felton was recently recognized by The Business Teachers Association of New York State with the Hobart H. Conover Friend of Business Education Award for 2018-2019.
Active in our community, Felton has served on local and state boards including:
- Past Chair of the New York Credit Union Foundation
- President of the Children’s Safety Village
- Treasurer of the New York State Coalition of Community Development Financial Institutions
- Volunteering for the United Way of Southern Chautauqua County
The Felton family lives in Lakewood and enjoy traveling, family times and he enjoys an occasional golf game.
